I’ve been practicing an interesting technique during my lunchtime dowsing sessions that I’ve not seen mentioned anywhere else.  I talked about it previously in this post.

I will occasionally go on what I would call “Dowsing walks.”  With a map of the area I’m thinking of walking I will begin by asking the following questions.

• Should I go on a dowsing walk today?
• Is there a special pot somewhere in the park I should walk to today?
• May I dowse for that spot?
• Can I dowse for the spot?

Finally, if these are all positive answers, I dowse for the spot using a quadrant search. (And, yes, I’ve gotten negative answers before which resulted in me still going to the park but not with an intent to find a dowsed spot.)

This is a bit different from other dowsing techniques I’ve read about since there’s not really any “target” I am attempting to find.  There is but, really, there isn’t.  The target is the “spot.”  However, whatever might be at the spot is a complete mystery to me.   In effect, I’m letting the Universe take over and point the way for me.  I started it as a simple experiment but the results have been pretty startling.

Once at the site, I take the map with me and begin walking towards the pinpoint.  As I walk I really focus on opening up to my environment.  I do this for relaxation and as a fun excuse to have a target to walk towards.   I allow that energy, that sense of adventure and mystery carry with me.  I keep myself open and I relax.  As I get close, I will let the pendulum direct me in the direction the spot is located.  Once I feel I am within 20 feet or so I will move off at an angle and get a second line in which to triangulate the location.

Here are two stories as examples  of what I’ve encountered going on dowsing walks.

The first began as I walked through the small woods to the spot I’d dowsed and found a moderate clearing.  Once there, I triangulated two other times which gave me three lines total.   At their intersection would be the point I was to find.  I didn’t  see anything at first but as I moved closer, and much to my surprise, the intersection happened to be where a large garter snake was sunning itself on a fallen log.  I’d dowsed a snake.  I was, again, stunned.

I’d be willing to shake this off as some sort of lucky hit but to add to the mix let me mention it was late October.  We had been having a warm snap but it was still jacket weather.  Most snakes, by this point in the year, are well balled up and beginning their hibernation.

And the final bit of weirdness?  Let me reference you back to a previous post where I had drawn some cards concerning my new dowsing hobby.  Remember what cards came up?  Click here to go to that post.

Yeah.

The second story occurred in the same park.  I was led to an area near the same clearing as before.  This time the pendulum directed me to a normal, medium aged tree and nothing else.  It just kept swinging towards the tree no matter where I stood.  I was asking all sorts of questions concerning why I had been led there and getting nothing but negatives.  The only answer I received a positive to was the question, “Is this tree the target?”

So, with time to spare, I sat down on a nearby fallen tree trunk a few feet away.  I was thinking about what questions to ask next when a Pileated Woodpecker buzzed by and began working some nearby trees and vines.

I love these birds a great deal and I always enjoy watching people’s eyes when they see one for the first time in the woods.  It was treat to sit and watch him hang upside down, eating berries from the thick wood vines we have in the area.  The shock came when he suddenly left his perch and landed on the trunk of the tree I had just dowsed.  Suddenly, in a split second, there was my answer!  I was mere feet away from a huge bird I’d loved all my life since he had landed on the lower section of the trunk.  He was there for around five minutes looking for insects, moving up the tree, and then he flew off to another part of the woods.

Dowsing walks for me have helped me get back in touch with the magical.  There was no way I could have known a snake was sunning itself on that log from a few miles away and how could I have known, in advance, that the Pileated would have landed on the exact tree I dowsed?  Something magical happens when you open yourself up to Mother Nature, to the Universe.  In a way, it’s a form of a Medicine Walk and every time I have done a Dowsing walk with that mindset I have not been dissapointed.

A lot of the sites I’ve read on dowsing say you have to have a specific target in mind before you begin.  However, with these and other experiences I am having more and more of, I’m beginning to wonder if by having a specific target in mind you’re not blocking other information from the Universe/God/Higher Self?  Is it possible that it works both ways?

I’ll be continuing to post results here as I experience them.  If you’re curious maybe you can give it a try yourself?  Let me know how it goes if you do.

(This is a continuation of a post begun in  Stumbling Onto The Line, Part One. )

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Back home that evening, I began plotting the spot as well as the course of the line.  I was very curious where it might lead.  As I was drawing it to the South I realized the line was heading directly towards several prehistoric Indian sites along the border.  Out of curiosity I drew a full path line across the state between the major site to the south and another large ancient site which could be found in the northern area of the state.  As I zoomed out I was floored.

My powerspot seemed to be very close to or directly on that line.

What were the odds?  I found myself l in shock over my findings, just staring at the computer screen and shaking my head.  What were the chances?  Could it get any weirder?    Going a step further, I found it also came close to another ancient site even further down in another state.  I just kept asking myself over and over, “How did this happen?  Did I really find this spot?”  I had a hard time getting to sleep that night and on top of it all I realized I was incredibly irritable.  I took a walk with my dog, tried to calm down in the autumn evening, and then headed for bed.

The next day I went back to the site for lunch to confirm the line and to solidify my visual markers.  Perhaps, I told myself, I had misremembered those locations?  Maybe I had drawn the line incorrectly?  With notebook and pen, I went back, stood in the spot, and reconfirmed my information, recording every detail I could get as the pendulum gave me the same exact track again.

I also had a few more questions for the site.  What exactly WAS it?  Through a yes/no series I was able to determine it was simply a spot where the energy line was very near or bubbling onto  the surface.  In a way, it was like an eruption of energy.  I envisioned it like lava extremely close to the surface and making the area warm.  I randomly gave a rating of 1 to 5 and asked to be told what strength the line might be with 1 being the smallest energy line and 5 being the largest, most powerful on the planet.  Surprisingly, I was told a 4!

While there the second time I noticed a preponderance of crows in the trees around me, perhaps twelve or more.   I considered taking it as some sort of omen but I decided eventually to not do so.   As I worked, they flew away.  I did note that, once again, there appeared to be evidence of wildlife as there was a large area flattened area where several deer had slept for the night directly next to the spot.

Still not very sure about what I had stumbled on, I went back to work and later that evening I did some more looking at Google Earth.  I entered in my new information and the angle of the line did change slightly.  I drew a line to the older sites both in the North and the South.  My spot was not on that line but was VERY close to that line (less than a mile) considering the scale.  In addition, the energy line shared the same exact angle to the line between the North and South sites, running almost parallel to it.

That evening, I became aware I was becoming more and more irritable.  Something similar had happened the night before, the first day I had found the powerspot.   I had come home and shortly after dinner had become very cranky and had gone for a walk to cool down.   During this second evening, I had to control my thoughts and words to my family.  My wife commented on how “raw” I seemed to be about things.  I  felt hyperactive and scatterbrained.

Noting that I was not normally like this, I began to wonder if my contact with a high level energy line and powerspot could have that kind of effect on me?  I had stood in the  node for over twenty minutes each day as well as walked the ley line itself twice in two days.  I began to look on the internet and found that, yes, high power ley lines and “nodes” could cause one to have  a high level of energy as well as worse effects if they were “negative” in their energy.  Duh!

I likened the effect to what I had felt when walking around one of Sedona’s vortexes a year ago.  My experience with the Sedona vortex had been very calming, peaceful, and, well, fun.  I had been told, “From a vortex, you get what you bring into it.”  Later that evening in Phoenix, like I was feeling now, I had felt hyperactive and absolutely full of energy.

Being a bit of an idiot, I had not grounded myself before or after the encounters with the because, to be honest, I had not REALLY believed I had stumbled onto anything.  It was only later in the evening, as I noted how close the line came to linking up to the ancient sites in my state, I began to feel differently.  The emotional energy and irritability that followed capped it for me.

I had to accept that I had managed to not only dowse a powerspot (or Node) but had also dowsed the direction of a rather high energy ley line.   What I have not been able to figure out is why me and why hasn’t someone else found this site?   All I can think of is that it’s in a out of the way corner of an out of the way public park.  Perhaps it was just as simple as no one had really asked the question before?    Even as I write this I wonder if there are ancient remains in the area.  Was there something nearby but now lost to time?  Did the old shamans know this place?  Has anyone before me ever stumbled onto it?  I know that I’ll never truly know the answers to those questions.  All I know is that I know where it is.

Since first finding it weeks ago, I’ve been back numerous times.  Every time I do I make sure to be very conscious of my thoughts and being grounded both entering and leaving the area.  It has helped immensely.    I continue to see lots of wildlife in the area, even as we move into Winter.    I plan to do more historical research in the area as well as burying  a crystal there in the coming days; maybe leave some tobacco offerings as well.   I’ve come to believe that it is a very strong medicine area.  I am not sure it is what you would call a vortex but it most definitely carries power.    Perhaps I’ll build a small clandestine shrine?

I’ve had to accept that the powers that be led me here for some reason and wanted me to find it.  To be honest, I don’t understand it.  Dowsing has become an incredible mystery to me and the surprises keep coming every day.  All I know is that I feel very thankful and honored.  I also know that this spot needs to be deeply respected because of the energy there.  As things develop, I promise I will document what I find.

(Because of the length of this post, I’m breaking it into two or three separate posts.)

I’ve recently become more than a little interested in energy lines, ley lines, dragon lines, whatever-ya-wanna-call-em type lines.  I’ve known of them previously but because of my interest in map dowsing, they’ve come back into my attention.  It makes sense to me that if there are meridians of energy on the human body there might just be something similar on the earth.  If they do exist I would bet hard money the ancients before us, who did not have cell phones, television, and the internet to distract them, would have some sense of these energy lines.

I decided a few weeks ago to try out a dowsing experiment with them.  I first went through several sessions of asking my pendulum everything I could about ley lines.  Do they exist? Do energy spots or centers exist?  Where they in my county? Can I find them with my pendulum?  Can I map them?  All of these came up yes.  I was encouraged and decided I’d poke at it further.  Even given my recent slump in map dowsing, I asked if I could dowse for these spots on a map?  I was, again, told yes.

Then, I asked, “Could I find an energy spot on Google Earth?”  The answer was a resounding big swing of “yes.”

As I’ve mentioned, I like to get out on my lunch breaks and go to a couple of close parks.  I figured the odds were pretty low but I asked, “Is there a energy center or line in X park?”  I got another definite hit.  That morning, I dowsed a spot with Google maps.  (I’ll cover this process later.)   The particular park has a separate wooded section and the dowsed spot had fallen within it.   I marked it, printed off the map, and tucked it into my pocket to explore in person later in the day.

I arrived  and ate a quick meal of soup and crackers.  Looking forward to the adventure, I set off into the woods along a wide walking path.  Being autumn there was a nice chill in the air and the leaves had just begun to change into their golden and red colorings.  As the path curved the dowsed spot took me off the main path.  The trees, mostly hardwoods with a scattering of pine, are mostly around 40 years old but with a few random older trees that had been there, most likely, when the area was a farm.  The dowsed spot was completely shielded by a small grove of conifers which had grown (been planted?) near the path.  Moving a little north, I found a way into the trees, briars, and scrub and then curved my way back southward.

I knew there was little chance the dowsed spot was 100% accurate once in the field so I began looking around the area.  The first thing I noticed was that there were a few younger dead trees and, surprisingly, two larger older trees growing very close together.  Was this where I had been directed?

I got out my pendulum and began dowsing a triangulation.  As I did this I came across what I can only describe as a mossy hassock or cushion on the ground.  The raised circular area was no more than two feet across, raised off the forest floor 6 inches and covered with a thick covering of moss.  It was also very close to the two trees growing together.

After running the triangulation with the pendulum, the lines crossed directly at the area of the two larger trees, one a maple, the other an oak.  I also saw that the maple was much larger because it actually had two trunks coming off a much larger base.  Curious.  The area where the pendulum directed me was circular and no more than four feet wide directly at the base of the two trees.  I asked permission to enter with the pendulum and was given a “yes”  so I did.

I did not notice any shuddering, life-changing effects.  I did notice that it felt good in the area and there was evidence the areas surrounding the spot had been used the night before by deer to bed down.  I also found evidence of at least two game trails that moved through the area.  But, there was no other signs to mark this spot as “special” or “otherwordly.”

Asking a few more questions with the pendulum I was able to determine the following:

• It was a spot that was part of a longer ley line.
• It was not an intersection of ley lines (which surprised me.)
• The line itself was approximately 3 – 4 feet wide.
• I was able to get a pretty decent idea of the direction of the line itself by having the pendulum swing along it.

As my time was coming to a close, I decided to walk the line back towards the edge of the forest and my car.  I kept my eyes open and saw there were at least two other trees with conjoined trunks along the line.  I also noticed a stand of pines as well as a huge patch of low circular mushrooms also growing directly on “the line.”  There were also two more of the mossy bumps.  Very curious.

Breaking free of the woods, I was able to make note of a few visual clues for when I got back to Google Earth and I wrote those down as well.  This way I would be able to put a line on the map and get a better idea of how it laid on the land.  The rest would have to wait until I got home and had time to put things together.  I couldn’t wait to see exactly where the line fell and if it pointed to anything interesting.

At this point all I knew was that, if nothing else, I was having fun on my lunch break.  An exercise in “creative do-nothingness”, as I liked to call it.   A walk in the woods complete with sun on my face and wind in my hair.  A creative excuse to go for a jaunt.

When I finally got home to look things over and put the points into Google maps I was a little stunned with what I found…

I originally thought I would post this for amusement’s sake but I decided it might actually be informative for folks to see how bare bones you can go with your pendulum work.

A few weeks ago I left my pendulum in its resting spot at home instead of tucking it into the pocket of my dress pants.   Some concerns and questions came up at work and I needed a “quick fix.”  Looking about my desk I improvised with the low-cost device you can see on the right.  I grabbed a rubber band, cut it once and then attached a small binder clip to one end of the band.

Wah-lah, instant pendulum!

The unexpected bonus is that I can have it on my desk, play with it, actually use it, and no one is the wiser.  It’s perfectly camouflaged as a fiddle toy on my desk!

And what do you know if doesn’t actually work as a pendulum.

As I posted on my Twitter, I’ve had to admit defeat in my first map dowsing self-assignment/practice.  I gave it a good run of ten hits and then asked my wife for the location.  What surprised me further is none of those ten could even be considered near misses.  Talk about a bummer!

However, in talking with my wife, I discovered some interesting facts.  She wondered if it had to do with the amount of energy not only she put into hiding it but also the fact she might have inadvertently hid it psychically.  Is it harder to dowse something that is, even by a small amount, being shielded by someone.  Since my wife is no rookie with her abilities either I can only imagine if this effected my dowsing ability somehow.

There is also the idea the target I created was not really anything of import. It consisted of a stone, a piece of paper, and a small sculpey item I had created earlier in the year.  These were placed in a ziplock bag.  Not necessarily treasure of any kind.  Could the items I placed in the target have something to do with it as well?

Of course, there is also the chance I just botched it.

I’ll be trying again and this time there will be a few modifications to the exercise.  The item will have some importance to me, some form of “treasure.”  I’m considering perhaps a small amount gift card which we can use if I find the target.  If I don’t find it then it’ll be given away to one of my kids.   Also, upon it being hidden, I’ll ask my wife to NOT try to shield it or hide it psychically in any way.  If nothing else, I’d like for her to attach a psychic beacon to it to hopefully make it easier for me to get the location.

What do you think?  Do you think it’s possible a target could be shielded by someone or the importance of the item could affect accuracy?  Both?

I’ve been fascinated by map dowsing since it first came onto my radar many years ago in a fictional story.  In the story, the hero needed to find the location of a stolen magical object.  After taking a pendulum and swirling it over the map a few times he was able to deduce three locations where the item had been taken.  Brilliant!  To add to this, I love maps.  I love to draw them, design them, and, when I can afford it, collect them. I’m a Google Maps and Google Earth junkie.

After beginning my new work with pendulums, I’ve been researching it further and practicing often.  My assumption has been that with my love of maps I should be a natural at this.    Well, maybe not as much as I would imagine!

I’ve gone about it two ways.  The first is to use the pendulum to let the pendulum show me where to go for a walk or a drive.   For those the question was always, “Where should I go to see or find something interesting for me?”  A very subjective and open ended question, I know, but I thought it was the best for what I was doing.  It’s been this type of dowsing which has been successful, and fun, for me.

For instance, the last time I had the pendulum “show me something interesting” was during a lunch break at my work.  I had dowsed a spot on a printed out Google Map and it had marked an area of road not too far from work.  I went out for my drive and really didn’t see much.  Then, on my way back by the same area from the other direction, I drove past two mailboxes with two separate names on them and right next to each other.  The catch?  One last name on the mailbox was from my father’s side of the family and the other was my Mother’s maiden last name.   What were the odds of that happening?  I’ve never seen those two names next to each other before and it definitely matched the request of “show me something interesting.”

The second is the classic form of map dowsing and is used to find physical objects or people.  A few times when a missing person report comes to my attention, I’ve used a combination of yes/no questions and map dowsing and had moderate success.  Two out of four times now I’ve followed up on the news story and discovered that the person was found very close to the locations I had dowsed.  (One story I was unable to verify anything after the initial report.)  I find those results intriguing.

With physical objects, it’s proven very difficult.  My current project has been to try and find a packet that has been hidden by my wife within the small housing edition where we live.  Every day I print out a map of our edition and try to dowse the item’s location.  The statistics are not pretty and I’m currently coming in at zero successes after six attempts. I’ve tried several different styles of finding the dowsed point but still no success.  The closest I have come is to show my wife the first three points and her pointing at two of them and saying, “Well, I thought of hiding it there but I moved on.”  I figure I’ll give myself ten attempts before giving it up and resetting the experiment.

Through this I’m trying to remind myself that whenever anyone learns a new skill it sometimes takes weeks of practice to get one successful attempt.  I’m sure the same applies here with map dowsing.  What I am trying to avoid, however, is that my frustrations in map dowsing may contaminate the information I get in other forms of dowsing.  There is a part of me that mutters, “Well if you can’t get it right with a map how do you expect the other information to be correct?”

I regularly tell that part of my brain to shut up.  Sometimes it listens…

I’m glad to be back posting on this blog after an extended time off.  I’ve not hung up the pendulum during this time.  Matter of fact, as I write this I have two in my pants pocket.  No, life changes, moving, and economic stress have all had their way with me over the past few months.  Toss in a few other distractions from other interests and I’ve not had time to write.  I apologize for that and it’s my hope to post something here at least once or twice a week from here on out.

In regards to pendulum work, I did take about a month off.  This was more due to the aforementioned move than anything else.  It was also due to a period of inaccuracy with them. Perhaps it was the stress I was going through or perhaps I was just pushing the boundary of my skill level too far and too fast?  Regardless, I went through a period where nothing I seemed to dowse was accurate and frustration mounted.  Some time off was necessary in order to clear my mind.  I continued to use my oracle cards and give readings for people but the pendulum went to the side.

What got things moving again was a chance to go out on a paranormal investigation with a local group of ghost hunters. When I asked if I could bring the pendulum along to use next to their EMF sensors, digital cameras, and K2s they gave me a hearty thumbs up.  The week prior to the investigation I warmed up with the pendulums again and found that my accuracy, at least for personal information and guidance, was back in full force.  The letterboard work was a bit wonky and I continued to get long strings of words that made no sense.  However, on the day of the investigation, I tucked my favorite pendulum in my pocket and off we went.

About halfway through the evening, things were going slow as far as the investigation and we seemed unable to illicit any sort of activity.  This surprised us since the location was actually known as being very active.  I took a few moments and sat down at the table with the pendulum and my letterboard.  Through a series of yes/no questions I was able to get some basic information about the locale.  Yes/no questions have always worked well for me and, for the most part, have given accurate results.  I then asked if using the letterboard was appropriate and was given a solid, “yes.”

I asked if there was a place in the house where we could go to get some good activity and the pendulum quickly spelled out “upstairs.”  What struck me about this was that for the days leading up to the investigation my letterboard sessions had been fairly frustrating.  However, the pendulum wasted no time, gave no odd words or letters, and actually spelled the word quickly.

Team members had been to the upper floor and the attic already but had only gotten light hits.  I asked if it meant the second floor or the attic through yes/no questions and was told the attic.  I went back to the letterboard and asked if there was anything else I needed to know about going to the attic.  The pendulum then spelled out a name.  Being a little “trancey”from the pendulum I at first thought the name was one of the spirits of the house.  Luckily that bit of  confusion was worked out!  I informed the team lead and the named team member and in a few minutes a small group of us were heading upstairs.

The session upstairs started very slowly but the named team member began talking about one of the people that had died within the house, a young boy who had fallen on the stairs.  Within minutes things changed quickly.  No sensors went off but team members began seeing and sensing things.  One team member was sure a shadow had just gone over part of their body.  I felt someone brush against my shoulder as I sat on the floor.  Another investigator had a sense of cold and was sure someone had walked past the doorway to the stairs.  Unfortunately, we had no hits from the sensors to back any of the experiences up and no EVP’s were recorded either.  Regardless, I felt that the pendulum had been very successful in pointing us in the right direction.

Since then I’ve taken to recording my dowsing sessions so as not to be distracted with writing everything down.  It has helped immensely.  I’ve also taken a renewed interest in map dowsing and there will be more on that later. For now, I’m glad to be moving forward and back on this wonderful and odd path I’ve been wandering for the better chunk of my life.

When I started this journey with the pendulum I fell back on that which I know, oracle cards.  I’ve used the Faeries’ Oracle since it came out and I am blessed to know the writer of the book as a good friend and teacher.   You can find her webpage, Faery Wisdom, by following the link.  Nature Spirits and the Fey were friends of mine before I found the deck but the cards allowed me to hear their voices all the more clearly.  You can try the Faeries’  Oracle  at its online site, Faeries’ Oracle Online

The Medicine Cards by David Carson are perhaps one of the first oracle card sets I began working with after the Tarot.   Native American Spirtuality was and is an important part of the blending of “who I am.”   Though I do have Native American heritage in the bloodline it is small and somewhere around 1/16th.  I respect the Native American teachings and feel there is deep wisdom there.

I use the two decks in conjunction now when I do readings for myself and others and have been happily surprised how they interact.  As I started this journey with pendulums I drew two cards for myself.

The Singer of Initiation is all about a passage and a trial onward to a new level, a major change which has been building and is now here.  It speaks of a period of time of seeing and accepting your own powers and using them for a higher and more ethical level.  It’s an excellent card to get for my work with the pendulum because it confirms a lot of things I had already been reflecting on with the process.

The Snake is the card of Transmutation.  Like a snake shedding it’s skin, the card speaks about a metamorphosis, and about the life-death-rebirth cycle.  I too have come through a similar cycle recently.  After looking over this reading a few weeks after it was done, I see that by beginning work with the pendulum it allowed me, in a way, a type of rebirth.  I had put aside much of what I am now doing on a daily level and had felt the stings and poison of the modern world.  Like the card says, Snake medicine is about transmuting the poisons of several bites and bringing that power to others.   A change in consciousness that can reveal much more if it is allowed to occur.

The two of them together spoke of initiations, a new cycle, a rebirth, new abilities, and understanding how to take what I knew from the past and place is solidly in the present.  Initiation and Transmutation.  I can see myself incorporating the pendulum in my card readings for myself and others.  Taking what I learn from those years from the past and incorporating it into the current challenges.  And, also, that is why I started this blog because it was a way to track the path from the new beginning to the new present.

Thank you for coming along with me so far.  I’m excited as to how this is going to work out.

Thought I would share a funny map dowsing story which happened a week or so ago.  It was one of my first lessons with map dowsing and very educational.  I was eager and decided to give it a run during a lunch break.  The initial intent was to go somewhere and find something without knowing it was there.   There would be two preconditions for the target — It was to be man made and older than 20 years.  I was hoping for a coin, a bottle, a bit of an old can, anything.  I wanted to leave it open for all possibilities.

After asking the pendulum if it wanted to try this out at the nearby park I go to for my lunch break, it said no.  Instead, after questioning, it specified the plot of woods across from my workplace.  Okay…  Thinking I was on to something awesome I pulled up a quick map and decided to dowse it.  I used the corner method where two edge corners are used to triangulate a spot on the map.  Holding the pendulum over the corner, the pendulum would swing out and give me an angle which I marked with my free hand.  I then did the same at the other corner.  Using a straight edge I drew a line out from each corner using the marked angle.   Where the two lines intersected on the map would be the place to  search.

Previous to doing this I was little worried as I would be tromping around the woods in work clothes and it might have to be a spot I would come back to later.  I did not have to worry as the intersection marked a spot perhaps only forty feet past the tree line.  Gathering things up, I grabbed my sandwich and headed out into the woods.  The underbrush had started to get it’s full summer growth and the trees are not quite old enough to have blocked the light and prevented bushes and briars.  I pressed forward carefully and within a few moments I was standing at the spot indicated by the dowsing.  Interestingly enough, it had brought me to an old cart or farm road track that had since overgrown.  It curved off into the woods going to the left and to the right.

I pulled out the pendulum and asked it to show me any corrections or take me to a “ground zero.”  It did, bringing me out into the road track and to one side of it.  Finding the “zero” spot I then started looking around on the ground.  Nothing except plants, dirt, and branches.  I asked the pendulum if what I was looking for was in the ground.  Yes.  Is it less than a foot deep?  Yes.  Is it man made?  Yes.

I did not have any way to dig but I did continue to poke around the plants, getting stung by thistles in the process.  After a few minutes and an invasion of mosquitos, I gave it up with a shrug of my shoulders and thought about coming back with a small handshovel.  I marked the spot the pendulum had pointed out and hoofed it back to the office.

Yeah, you guessed right, I went back with a hand shovel during some off hours a few days later.  There was only one way to know for sure.  And guess what?  I didn’t find anything.  Nada.  I marked it off as an interesting failed experiment by a beginner and started thinking about other ways to test it.   I hadn’t found anything but I’d had fun with the whole adventure.

Then, a few days later driving past the spot and thinking about the “failed” attempt, a thought hit me like a 90 mph fastball.  The pendulum had been right all along and I got served a lesson in awareness and what I like to call “question blindness.”  Reading this, you may have already figured it out.  The thought had been, “What are the odds of a pendulum leading me to an old road track in the woods that I didn’t know was there?”

Yeah.  It was man-made, obviously older than 20 years, and was less then a foot in the ground.   Matter of fact, the old roadway was embedded/sunk into the ground about 4 to 6 inches from the average contour of the land around it.   I had found exactly what I had asked to find.  I just had not realized it.

Definitely a slap my forehead kind of moment.

So, there’s lesson number one on map dowsing learned the hard way.  Be specific about what you are looking for, be specific with your questions, and don’t have too many preconceptions going into it.  Don’t fall prey to “question blindness.”

My wife and I had discussed my growing interest in the pendulum and, having her own interest in such things, was interested but still somewhat skeptical.  A few days ago, while I was at work,  she popped up on the chat program we use.  She was getting ready to leave for a meeting and could not find some fairly important paperwork.  “Have you seen it?” she asked.

I, of course, had not and was not familiar with it at all.  She went on to say she had fifteen minutes to find it.  I told her to give me five.

I found a quiet spot at work and began asking questions with the pendulum.  Was it in the house?  Yes.  Was it by her desk? No.  Was it on the bookshelf near her desk? No.  I went on asking questions, going room by room, including the kitchen and bathrooms.  Finally, I asked, “Is it in the bedroom.”  Yes.

I continued asking questions, moving around the room, until I had dowsed its final location.  On the bookshelf on the wall near the bed.  Once back to my desk, I told her where it was.   I waited a few minutes and then she fired back.

“Did you see it there?”

“No.”

“It was there!  How did you know?”

“I used the pendulum.”

“Call me.”

Needless to say, it was a memorable phone conversation.  I promised her I had not seen it previously, at least not consciously, and I explained the process I had used.  She replied with, “It was right were you said it was underneath some other things.  I have no idea how it got there.”   Then, she had to dash out the door to her meeting.

The moment, however, proved important.  It allowed me to get solid confirmation that the process was working.  It also completely turned my wife around.  When I got home that evening, she had already made a pendulum for herself out of one of the prism crystals she likes to hang in the windows.

“This is too cool,” was her response to me as I came in the door and saw her at the kitchen table with a crystal spinning below an outstretched hand.

“Told ya,” was my smiling response.